Road Trip to Lake Constance, Germany

This was a now or never road trip.

One borne from intuition where I convinced @iamyohann to travel in the spring of 2019 to Europe to catch up with family and visit the AERO exhibition in Friedrichshafen. It was unbeknownst to me, to all of us that there will be a pandemic the following year which will ground flights indefinitely which would lead to the now complicated overseas travel.

Yohann and I rented a car for a week to drive from the westernmost tip of France all the way to Germany. A long drive as we've predicted.

I previously wrote a blog post related to this particular road trip where I talked about how the cross-country driving went, the route, and how we broke this drive into 2 days.

Unlike in New Zealand where we were able to take turns driving, I don't have a french driver's license, so Yohann had to drive the entire journey. If I consult Google Maps, that would be roughly around 11 to 12 hours of straight driving, 1,146 kilometers to Friedrichshafen.

Once we left the Formule 1 Hotel we stayed in for the night, we left the following morning after downing coffee from a vending machine.

We later watched the signs of Belfort and Mulhouse disappear and Yohann was thrilled to drive along the Autobahn as soon as we crossed the German border.

Left: Rotbach / Top and Bottom Right: Freiburg im Breisgau

We knew we were in Germany as soon as the signboards changed and so did the spoken language on the car radio.

It started raining and even though it was in the middle of the afternoon, it appeared as though the day was ending.

We drove through the 19.9-kilometer road in Rotbach through the Southern Black Forest and even spotted a deer sleeping on the roadside.

It started raining hard again and I thought about the deer and wondered whether he or she was able to take shade.

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Heiligenberg

It's one of those places your heart knows well but can't seem to name. Yet it stands out in your memory by the scent of something delicious roasting in the air luring one towards the promise of warmth.

The cold wind prompts you to pull your sweater tighter and exhale in relief that you had your scarf on. Restaurant windows were filled with tourists enjoying this very warmth as soon as their meals were served on the table.

Heiligenberg was the name of this hilltop town. It is referred to as "Sun Over Lake Constance." It was a last-minute bed and breakfast booking and thanks to our GPS, we spotted the place which was lost in the middle of beautiful countryside.

It finally stopped raining but it was terribly cold. We stayed in a family-run inn named Gasthof Hosbein which included a free breakfast. Our B&B host was thoughtful to have kept the heaters on long before we arrived. The warmth that welcomed us as soon as we dropped the luggage in the 1 bedroom apartment lifted our spirits.

Heiligenberg is known for its spectacular panoramic views of Lake Constance hence it is nicknamed, " the viewing terrace of the lake."

It was foggy and grey. The lake and its surrounding landscape were entirely covered. We spent a considerable amount of time walking around looking for a good place to eat after looking up available restaurants nearby.

It was too darn cold for spring. Do take note that this visit was in 2019, pre-Covid time and yet it was pretty quiet.

It was too early for dinner but too late to visit a nearby attraction which was the Castle Heiligenberg as seen above.

There was a pizzeria with a good view named Pizzeria Ristorante Ambiente Dapino right next to the city hall.

Guess what, we ended up dining in a traditional German restaurant. It was a part of the Bed and Breakfast we were staying in where we enjoyed a good schnitzel with fresh pints of beer.

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Aviation Show in Friedrichshafen

This was the main reason for our road trip - AERO Friedrichshafen, the world's leading General Aviation Show. It's held around the last week of April every year by Messe Friedrichshafen at the massive trade hall located next to the airport.

We spent the whole day there, visiting stands from one trade hall to the next. @iamyohann was mostly drawn to the helicopters and ultralight aircraft. I was there fascinated by how huge the exhibition is, triggered by my experience in working in the Events and Exhibition Design industry in the past.

Friedrichshafen is situated along the fringes of Lake Konstanz (Lake Constance). It is referred to as Zeppelin City for it is widely known as the home and birthplace of the Zeppelin airships.

You can learn more about its history by visiting The Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen.

When we were done at the fair, we drove towards Lake Constance on E54 on our way to our hotel in Zurich. We took a detour in Nussdorf to admire the lake closely.

Lake Constance

Lake Constance is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Germany. It's right at the heart of all three countries connecting Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, which makes it culturally diverse with a massive range of activities and sights to see, for nature lovers, sporty types, epicureans, and culture seekers.

My Takeaway

Despite our speedy gonzales-like road trip to visit the Aero Show and Lake Constance, I am glad we took a short pause to admire the lake up close. I'm sure there are other more beautiful sites where one could appreciate the beauty of the 63-kilometer long lake known in German as Bodensee. Enjoying this quiet corner of the lake, we were grateful to have had Lake Constance all to ourselves.

I had a strong feeling back then that we had to do this road trip or we would never be able to. Looking back at it now, the gut feeling was correct. I had no idea that the Aero exhibition was to be canceled the following year (2020) and that we would be shutting down our business two years after that trip.

I'm still contemplating whether I'd write about visiting Switzerland and not seeing anything but if you're interested in the other sites that took place connected to this road trip, do check out:

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